Random Health Tidbits - Coronary Heart Disease

So, for those of you know me well, you know that I am obsessed with everything related to nutrition, fitness & general health (that by no means I'm the walking manifestation of that obsession - I haven't worked out in 2 weeks & I ate all kinds of inappropriate things at 10:30 last nite...).  I'm also hell bent on spreading the word on the information that I think is important.  So... although it will have absolutely nothing to do with South Asian Dating, every now & then I'm going to share some health info with you... as always, read what you like & skip what you don't...

Why am I starting with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)...? Well, in the past 2-3 years, I have known 4 mid-30 something South Asian males who passed away from a sudden heart attack & one who survived a massive coronary episode & is now struggling with recovery. These were 5 seemingly healthy, non-overweight, active young men in the prime of their lives..... (side note - I knew these men either directly or through one degree of separation; 2 of them were physicians).

We all know of Uncles & Aunties or our own relatives who have had challenges with CHD... whether it be heart attacks, stroke, artery blockage, bypass surgeries, etc... We think that we are more in the know, are way healthier than them & that these things won't happen to us or that they are problems we will deal with way off in the future (actually, most of us don't give any of this stuff any thought at all).  That all might be true, but remember those five young men...  Being overweight or unhealthy is not purely aesthetic which is the part we focus on the most; it's serious & scary stuff.  Also, being seemingly slim (or as I like to call myself a "fat skinny person") & Indian is apparently not a great combination either; we need to be more proactive & plugged into our risk factors.

Anyway, long story short (& I know, I'm no good at that either), if you don't feel like reading the clinical article (link below) from Dr. Enas Enas - an expert in Cardiology & specifically on Coronary Heart Disease in Asian Indians - pleeease at least read the bullet points below.


Key Points:

• Compared to the general population of the US, the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Asian Indians is approximately 4 times higher
• The rates are similar amongst vegetarians & non-vegetarians
• The consequences of atherosclerosis in the Asian Indian population tend to be more severe & develop earlier in life.
• CHD mortality rates from studies done in 4 countries (Canada, Singapore, England & South Africa), show that CHD rates were highest for Asian Indians, intermediate for whites, & lowest for Chinese & African Americans. Women had a similar pattern to that of men.
• In California, Asian Indians have the highest rate of hospitalization for CHD & Chinese have the lowest rates.
• The higher CHD risk in the Asian Indian population may be related to higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance & diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome is thought to be associated w/ genetic factors, overweight/obesity & physical inactivity. The syndrome is characterized by abdominal obesity, & some really long scientific words... (see article) :-D
• See Table 6 for bloodwork all Indian-folk need to be getting done
• While total cholesterol & LDL levels are similar to whites, HDL levels are lower, trigylceride levels are higher, & Lp(a) - a strong heart disease indicator - levels are higher
• The most important aspect of preventing CHD is identifying individuals @ high risk of developing CHD at an early age.
• Modification of lifestyle, such as increasing physical activity & decreasing consumption of calories - particularly saturated fat - should begin early in life.
• Avoiding abdominal obesity is as important, if not more important, than avoiding total obesity.
• Consumption of all tobacco-related products should be eliminated (dear friends, please don't hate me as i keep up the obnoxious "you shouldn't smoke routine"!)
• Appropriate drug therapy should be considered for all lipid abnormalities & risk factor abnormalities which do not respond to lifestyle adjustment

http://www.southasianheartcenter.org/docs/AAPImonograph.pdf


If any of you had an "ah ha" or "woah" moment reading some of the above, please spread the word about this to the people you care about... go get the tests that Dr. Enas recommends (which may cost you some $$ out-of-pocket b/c they go beyond standard lipid profile tests, but they are worth it)... & reconsider the choices you are making as they relate to your health.

Ok, well, the last time I'd sent the above to every single brown person I knew, one person wrote back to me saying that she found it interesting & that she passed it along... other people deleted it... several made fun of "how random I am."  I don't know how many people actually read this blog, but even if just one more person is effected by this, all my randomness is worth it. 
 
That's all for me for today & as always, I'd love to hear from you.
 
Write soon ~ SmileMoon :)